Job 14:17 (KJV)

What does Job 14:17 mean?

Job 14:17 describes Job’s sense that God has carefully stored away his sins, keeping a record of them as if sealing them up in a bag and stitching them closed. Job feels that his wrongdoings are not forgotten or overlooked, but preserved and kept by God.

In this verse, Job is speaking to God during a time of deep suffering and confusion. Job uses the image of a bag being sealed and sewn up to express his belief that his sins are securely kept by God, not erased or ignored. This vivid language shows Job’s anxiety that nothing he has done wrong escapes God’s notice, even as he struggles to understand his suffering.

The Hebrew behind Job 14:17

• "transgression" (פֶּשַׁע, pesha‘): This word refers to rebellion or a breaking away from what is right, emphasizing serious wrongdoing rather than minor mistakes.
• "sealed up" (חָתַם, chatam): This verb means to seal something tightly, often to keep it secure or hidden. The image is of sins being locked away, not lost or forgotten.
• "bag" (צְרוֹר, tseror): This word means a small bundle or pouch, suggesting something intentionally gathered and kept together, not scattered or discarded.
• "sewest up" (תָּפַר, tafar): This verb means to stitch or sew, reinforcing the idea that the record of iniquity is securely closed, making it inaccessible or unchangeable.
• "iniquity" (עָוֹן, ‘avon): This term often refers to guilt or moral fault, highlighting the seriousness of what is being kept.

Why Job 14:17 matters

• Job 14:17 clears up the idea that God simply overlooks or forgets wrongdoing; instead, Job feels that every sin is carefully preserved and remembered.
• The verse highlights Job’s deep sense of helplessness, as he believes even his hidden faults are securely kept by God, contributing to his feeling of being trapped by his circumstances.
• This imagery connects to the wider passage where Job is wrestling with the seeming permanence of suffering and the inescapability of human guilt before God.